Draw Poker Sites

This page deals with Draw Poker and includes both the rules for how to play 5 card draw and also lists some of the best draw poker sites available online. Draw poker is perhaps the most basic form of poker and most poker players can attest to having learned poker through this game as well as playing it before moving on to games like Holdem, Omaha and Stud. While draw may be the simplest form of poker to learn it still requires a thorough understanding of the game in order to become a winning player. Below we’ve listed the rules for playing 5 Card Draw and also included some of our recommending choices of the best online poker sites for playing in draw poker games.

How To Play 5 Card Draw Poker

Draw Poker is played with between 2 and 10 players and the limits are usually fixed however there are some No-Limit draw games available online. The game kicks off with all players placing a fixed ante for which they receive 5 cards face down (the ante is meant to build the pot to start the game). Once players have received their cards they can evaluate them and the action begins to the left of the dealer. This player has the option to check or raise and action continues clockwise around the table until all players have had a chance to act.

Once the first betting round has completed players are able to discard none, one, two or three of their cards in exchange for new ones from the deck with the idea of improving their hand. Once this action has been taken by players there is another round of betting that commences will all players remaining in the hand. Once this last round of betting is finished players must expose their 5 cards which are then compared according to poker hand rankings to determine who is the winner of the hand. Some games also allow for 2 re-draws instead of one but this is dependant on who is running the game and the agreed upon rules amongst the players in the game.

Starting Hands In 5 Card Draw

One of the things that new players have the toughest time with when starting out with 5 card poker is deterring which hands are good and which hands should be folded. When it comes to starting hands there are two basic types of hands which include “Pat Hands” as well as “Drawing Hands”. Below we’ve provided examples of each type of hand and explained exactly why each one is beneficial when playing 5 card draw poker games.

Pat Hands: Pat hands are another way of saying a made hand so basically this means you the first five cards that were dealt to you have already got you a hand you won’t be throwing away. Some examples of pat hands would be a Royal Flush, Flush, Full House, 4 of a Kind, etc. When you are dealt a pat hand you will usually pass on the re-draw rounds and just check, call, or raise the bets made by other players. The tricky part is deciding whether or not your pat hand can beat the other players hands at the table so just be careful and think hard.

Drawing Hands: Another popular starting hand in 5 card draw games are drawing hands which basically mean you need certain cards to complete a much better hand. Some of examples of this would be 4 to the flush or and open ended straight draw but this could also include 3 of a kind where you are hoping to make a 4 of a kind. With drawing hands you are really dependant on the re-draw so don’t get in too deep simply hoping to hit the hand. While drawing hands are great they are about 50/50 to complete so keep that in mind during play.

Marginal Hands: Beside pat and drawing hands some players still want to bet and get in the action with marginal hands where you might hold high cards and have a chance to make a high pair. With this type of hand, it’s better to play with a smaller number of players since in big games there are more chances of bigger hands being held by your opponents that would surely beat marginal hands in the showdown at the end of the game.